It reported in August that it had denied transportation requests 15,083 times in June. In a subsequent November report, after advocates questioned the high number of denials, the June figure was revised downward to 623 denials, which was closer to the number of notices that were actually issued.

Kathy Flaherty, executive director of the Connecticut Legal Rights Project, and attorney Bonnie Roswig of the Center for Children’s Advocacy, each questioned the disparity in the figures in public meetings but have not received an answer from Veyo.

A spokeswoman for Veyo, Saramaya Penacho, supplied this response in an email to The Courant:

“The number was not ‘revised’ – the number was reported differently, due to request by DSS, to be reported as the number of members with denied trips … to mirror the reporting structure that occurs with Veyo and DSS.”

Roswig said there are valid reasons to deny a request for a ride, but that Veyo’s service-denial rate is far higher than any of the state’s other Medicaid providers.

Another concern came up at the December meeting: patient advocates said Veyo has been telling elderly Medicaid recipients that if their hometown offers dial-a-ride vans, they must use that service and were no longer entitled to the Medicaid transportation. Lawyers representing Medicaid clients have said that assertion is false and illegal.